NOAA finalizes call for bids to run Fairbanks satellite station, with clearance required

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday finalized its solicitation for a company to operate the Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station, turning the draft version Alaska News reported Oct. 16 into a binding request for proposals. The station is the agency's primary ground station for its polar-orbiting environmental satellites.

The contract is open only to small businesses. It covers satellite operations, facility maintenance, information technology, security guard services and property logistics. With all its options, it could run through May 2032.

Every bidder must hold an active Secret-level facility clearance from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency by the Nov. 9 proposal deadline at 2 pm Eastern. Questions are due by 3 pm Eastern on Oct. 23.

The agency's small-business guide to the clearance process names two common sources of delay: clearing a company's key managers and mitigating any foreign ownership, control or influence. The guide also says an interim clearance can let a contractor begin work while the process continues. The solicitation does not say whether an interim clearance would meet its requirement.

The prior contract, awarded in May 2022 to Netcentric Technology, a subsidiary of ASRC Federal, had a stated value of about $44.2 million. It drew four bids under the same small-business set-aside.